The Hoquiam School Board approved the reduction of 19 school district positions at a special meeting Tuesday.

Wednesday, Superintendent Mike Villarreal was personally meeting with each employee impacted by the resolution.

The cuts are being made to address a projected $2 million budget shortfall in the district for the 2019-2020 school year, due in part to the Legislature’s “McCleary fix” legislation designed so the state pays a greater share of the cost of basic education. Of the 10 school districts most negatively impacted by the new state funding plan, Grays Harbor County has five, including Hoquiam. Another factor is the 18% to 22% pay raises district teachers got earlier this year.

The reduction in staff will save the district a little more than $1.74 million in the upcoming year, according to the school district. Five high school and middle school certificated staff member cuts will save the district $500,000 — certificated staff includes teachers and other positions that require special accreditation. Cuts of one certificated position each in the preschool and elementary levels will save another $200,000. Other cuts will come from the district office, and reductions in coaching, custodial and groundskeeping staff.

The crowd at Tuesday’s meeting in the Hoquiam High School library included dozens of district employees and union representatives, some of whom commented before the vote.

Hoquiam Teachers Association President Laurie Gordon noted the 19 cuts do not include any at the administrative level.

“Everybody else is taking cuts,” she said. “This is a glaring omission.”

Hoquiam High School teacher Stan Severson said the teachers raises given by the district earlier this year “were the right thing to do” and it was the Legislature’s school funding mechanism that has put the district in a situation where cuts have to be made.

“This is a problem not created by you (the board) or us, but the Legislature,” he said. “They need to be held accountable. I’m really unhappy with what they did.”

Middle school teacher Sarah Sarich said she was glad the district “was willing to work with” the teachers union to avoid a strike over salaries earlier this year and echoed Severson’s sentiments about the Legislature. Why not, she said, come together as a district and take on Olympia as one to punctuate the funding problems in the district.

“Why are we letting Olympia put us through this?” she asked the board. “What if the district marched on Olympia? Not teachers, not the staff, but the district?”

Sue Dixon, Hoquiam High School’s head custodian and representative of the local Public School Employees union, said she was grateful school administrators were open during the cuts process, keeping employees informed that reductions were coming throughout the process.

“The state put us into this situation,” said Dixon. “But Hoquiam has always come through and we will come through again.”

When it came time for the vote, School Board Vice President Chris Eide moved to pass the resolution calling for the cut of 11 classified, 5 certificated, one district office and two maintenance/custodial positions. Board member Don Oliver seconded, and members were given the opportunity to speak on the resolution.

Board member Christie Goodenough called it a “crappy situation” and said she had been mulling her vote since the resolution was presented Friday, echoing Gordon’s comment about the lack of administrative position cuts in the resolution.

“I cannot support this when the administrative staff is not being touched. I think every department has to be touched,” she said, to applause from the gallery.

“I value and respect each and every one of you. This is not what we want to do,” said Eide to the gallery.

Eide said the cuts were decided upon with an emphasis on “keeping the reductions as far from the classroom as possible. Keeping the quality of education is what it’s all about.”

Board President Hoki Moir said the situation was difficult on the district as a whole.

“When I look out there I see a lot of faces, not numbers,” he said. “I see people I grew up with, who babysat my kids, who I looked up to growing up in Hoquiam.”

Moir said he is hopeful the Legislature will find a way to more properly fund education for districts like Hoquiam. “You are worth it,” said Moir. “The kids in this district are worth it. And we will get through this.”

Moir called for the vote, and the resolution approving the cuts was passed 4-1. Goodenough voted no.

Villarreal broke the somber post-vote atmosphere when he asked Moir if he could make a few remarks. Villarreal stood as he addressed the gallery.

“These are people I know and care about behind these positions,” he said, adding it was difficult to face layoffs “in a district and community I love” after he and his family were so warmly welcomed when he accepted the job in March 2017.

As for the comments about the lack of cuts in the administrative team, Villarreal talked about the need for student support employees in a district where there are about 126 registered homeless students, 114 official members of local Indian tribes and others with unique needs.

“When I came in I felt I needed to create a system where students get what they need,” said Villarreal. “I wanted to create a system where students are supported.”

Wednesday, Villarreal added, “In all that we do, students are our first priority. My job is to make sure that there are systems in place that support all students, and that we have people in place to oversee and guide these systems. In making these hard decisions we have to consider all aspects of our systems — everything from instruction, to management, to administration. It is not an easy task, and in the end the focus must be on what is best for Hoquiam students.”

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Hoquiam School District employees gathered at the Hoquiam High School library prior to Tuesdays special school board meeting. The board later voted 4-1 in favor of a resolution to cut 19 school positions in the face of a $2 million budget deficit in the 2019-20 school year.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Members of the Hoquiam School Board converse prior to Tuesdays special meeting. Later, they would vote 4-1 to approve a resolution calling for the reduction of 19 district positions as a way to deal with a $2 million budget deficit in the 2019-20 school year.